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Sony’s efforts to revive its dying smartphone business may see it extend the software support period for its flagship devices. According to a new report coming from Japan, Sony is planning to provide up to three years of Android OS updates to its 2020 flagships.
The report says the Sony Xperia 1 II, which released earlier this year with Android 10, will get updates up to Android 13. The upcoming Xperia 5 II will also get the same level of software support. It will presumably launch with Android 10 and will get updates up to Android 13.
While these are unconfirmed claims as of now, there’s no reason why the Japanese company shouldn’t do that. It may well have to move out of comfort if it wants to attract more buyers for its Xperia smartphones.
The same source also adds that Sony’s older flagships will only get two years of guaranteed Android OS updates. This essentially means the Xperia 1 and Xperia 5 will get updates only up to Android 11. Both the devices launched with Android 9 Pie last year.
Sony isn’t changing its update policy for its mid-range smartphones either. The company currently provides only one major Android OS update to its lower-cost phones and it is, unfortunately, sticking with that policy. The Xperia 10 II mid-ranger, which launched alongside the Xperia 1 II, will only make it up to Android 11.
The Xperia 10, Xperia 10 Plus, Xperia Ace, Xperia 8, Xperia 8 Lite, and other older models such as Xperia XZ3, meanwhile, will all end life on Android 10. That’s disappointing given how capable some of these phones are. If Sony is really considering three years of software support for its flagship models, it should reconsider its software update policy for lower-cost models as well.
Sony will join Samsung in providing three years of Android OS updates
If the report turns out to be true, Sony will join Samsung in providing up to three years of Android OS updates for its select smartphones. The Korean company announced its plans during the Galaxy Note 20 launch event early last month.
However, while Samsung is extending this generosity to its 2019 flagships as well as select Galaxy A series mid-range phones, Sony’s efforts seem to be limited to its 2020 flagships only.
That said, it’d still be nice to see Xperia phones being on par with Samsung Galaxy smartphones in some regard. Hopefully, Sony will issue some kind of official communication around this software update situation soon. Perhaps, during the Xperia 5 II launch in a couple of weeks. The upcoming Sony flagship launches on September 17, 2020.